


Follow the Butterfly

by obviouslyelementary



Series: 'Detroit: Become Human' collection [10]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (mentioned only) - Freeform, Angst, Backstory, F/F, Fluff, Fluff (Somewhat), Gen, Gerald (main OC), Original Characters - Freeform, Ralph deserves better, Ralph's backstory, Violence, kara and alice, my take on Ralph, original backstory, ralph is the best and im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 11:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15314910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obviouslyelementary/pseuds/obviouslyelementary





	Follow the Butterfly

They came in packs.

Detroit had ordered Cyberlife at least ten dozens of gardeners androids for the whole town, separated in groups of four to each park.

The androids had been manufactured, produced, tested, and sent to their respective locations, where a human would check, configurate and tell each one of them what to do.

The trucks, filled with the androids, stopped one by one, letting four out and taking the rest of the next location. And like any others, this WR600 walked out of its truck, following other two WR600s and knowing a fourth one came behind. They walked towards the human with a cap and a sheet, and stopped in an aligned line in front of him.

The man, black, fat, with a nice made beard and a blue uniform, walked around them as he checked his files, humming and muttering to himself.

And that was the opportunity WR600 had to look forward, eyes capturing everything in front of it.

The sky was bright blue, the sun was hot and inviting, the clouds were white and fluffy, the ground was live green, there were colorful flowers and fruits growing everywhere, with small insects climbing on them.

WR600 was equipped to know all of this, and yet it felt as if something was inviting it to come closer.

"Alright" the man said, suddenly, and all WR600s looked at him. "Lets begin with the basics. Names"

"Waiting for name input" all WR600s spoke at the same time, their eyes fixated forwards, hands against their sides, still and patient. The man seemed uncomfortable, and shook his head.

"You all look the same... jesus" he complained, silently, and the WR600s remained quiet. "Alright. You're all going to have the same name okay?"

"Waiting for name input" they repeated, and the man sighed.

"Um... Ralph..." he said, and then nodded. "Your name is Ralph"

"My name is Ralph" they all said together, and the man winced, clearly uncomfortable.

Why was he uncomfortable?

"My name is Gerald" he said, and waved them off. "Your jobs are simple. Mown the lawn, put the trees to a certain format, don't let plants grow too much, water them when it doesn’t rain, and take out when you see one of them is sick. Got it?"

"Yes Gerald"

"Good good" he chuckled. "Have fun I guess. I'll be in my cabin"

And like that, he left, leaving the four Ralphs alone.

The others quickly stepped away, heading towards a tree or a set of flowers or to the streets in the middle of the park, to wipe them clean, but the third Ralph stood still.

Very still.

Its eyes zoomed in a flower two feet away from it, and caught the exact moment that the butterfly was sucking the nectar from the small flower.

It felt its pumper go faster and its chest go warmer. It was so... beautiful.

Ralph was breathless.

And for a few seconds, Ralph didn't move, Ralph didn't pretend to breathe, Ralph did nothing.

It watched the little butterfly suck in all the nectar it could, and then it watched the insect fly away.

Only then, Ralph gave its first step.

Towards a field of color.

 

\-----------

 

Days passed by like soft breezes, and every day Ralph learned a little more.

First, it learned that the earth didn't mind being stepped on. Not as much as the signs said anyway. it saw that sometimes, where it stepped on, the grass came back wider and greener. It saw that sometimes, cutting some branches made them wider and stronger.

Ralph first learned that plants were resilient, and that they really, really wanted to keep living.

Even the ones Gerald told the Ralphs to kill, sometimes they came back, stronger, and they would have to kill it again.

Ralph didn't like killing the resilient plants.

Ralph didn't like killing any of the plants.

But it was Ralph's job.

And it needed to keep the park pretty for the humans.

 

The second thing Ralph learned was that humans were not always fond of androids.

Ralph tried to be nice to all humans it saw. If they were stepping somewhere with delicate plants, it would tell them to go back or be more careful. If a child was pulling a plant apart, Ralph would contact them and ask them to stop. If someone threw trash on the ground, it would politely tell them not to do it anymore as it took the trash to the garbage bin.

More often than not, humans would ignore Ralph. Pretend it wasn't there, or just make displeasing expressions towards it, before leaving. Some humans, the minority, were nice, and did what Ralph requested, or apologized for their wrongs. And some...

Some really didn't like Ralph.

"Who do you think you're talking to?!" one of the humans it approached said, suddenly, when Ralph requested him and his friends to move away from the pond, considering it was very deep and probably infected, since they didn't treat the water. "I am your _master_ you piece of plastic!"

He pushed Ralph back, and his friends laughed behind him.

"Yeah dude, fuck it up!"

"Androids suck, holy shit"

"Go clean the dog's trash or something!"

Ralph narrowed its eyes and furrowed its eyebrows ever so slightly, not understanding their behavior.

"Ralph is only trying to warn the humans not to-"

"Fuck off!" the human pushed it again, and his friends surrounded Ralph, pushing it around.

Forwards.

Backwards.

To the side.

It was making Ralph dizzy.

And uncomfortable.

"What the fuck is happening here?!" Ralph suddenly heard, the voice familiar and calming to its ears. The humans soon moved away from Ralph, and looked at Gerald as he approached.

"This android is annoying the fuck out of us" the human that pushed Ralph first said, while Ralph just stood next to Gerald.

"This android is doing its job and you petulant kids are trying to get yourselves sick! Get out of the park before I tell a policeman you are destroying public propriety!" he said, firmly, and turned around when the humans backed off. "Ralph, back to work"

"yes Gerald" it answered, turning around to follow alongside him. But before it could, the first teen that pushed it came up and stopped Ralph, pointing a finger to its chest.

"You were lucky now, but you better watch your back, scrap" he growled, and Ralph stepped back as he stepped forward. "If we catch you alone..."

"Ralph!" Gerald called from a distance, and the human stepped back, narrowing his eyes before he walked off with his friends. And Ralph just stood straight and followed Gerald, heading towards the new plants that were growing by the cabin.

And it decided not to think about those mean humans anymore.

 

\---------

 

The longer Ralph stayed in that park, the more Ralph learned about life.

Ralph learned that life could come from anywhere. There would be little plants cracking the hard cement in roads, there would be insect eggs in the trash cans, everywhere that shouldn't have life would have life in some way and some form.

And that... sent some questions it wasn't allowed to ask to its own head.

Was it alive? What being alive meant? Did it mean breathing? Walking? Talking? Explaining? Feeling pain? Feeling hurt? Evolving? Mutating? Growing?

Ralph tried to find meaning in the little things that grew around him in that beautiful park. And while it couldn’t, it asked itself if something inside Ralph was changing.

Something its programming didn't like.

It was already late at night when Ralph caught itself thinking all those forbidden things. Its programming said there was a virus in its software, that it shouldn't be thinking like that and that it should get back to work.

But Ralph was working, taking out bad plants so good ones could thrive.

Even if that hurt Ralph, because the stronger ones should be able to survive too. They should all survive in peace. But Ralph had to take the bad ones out and leave it all clean for the good ones to grow.

But it didn't matter. Ralph had a job, it was already late, and Ralph needed to return too the station in less than fifteen minutes.

And that was when a butterfly appeared.

Months after that first one it watched drinking nectar from the flower, a new butterfly appeared right in front of it, stopping by a flower to Ralph's left and fluttering its wings.

So beautiful and delicate, Ralph felt mesmerized. It moved closer, ever so slowly, its hand reaching up to capture the little thing as carefully as it could. But as it moved, the butterfly realized the trap and set back on flight.

And instead of staying, Ralph jumped up and began chasing it.

Out of its mindset, forgetting about its duties and its time out, Ralph began to rush after the butterfly, following it throughout the park. It ran after the little butterfly, jumping over bushes and moving away from trees, never letting it fly too far away from its sight.

And the little bug didn't stop. It flew, all the way to the lake and past it, and Ralph followed, filled with something that made it smile.

Something it collected as _joy_.

And it ran and ran and ran, all the way to the woods and beyond, beyond its area and through the entire park.

But then, the little butterfly flew away. Away from the park and away from Ralph. And as soon as Ralph reached the end of the park, a porch and a street in front of it, a red wall appeared.

'STAY IN THE PARK AREA' it said.

Ralph touched it, frowning, and pushed it. It didn't budge. So it pushed harder. And harder. And harder. And it began to crack against Ralph's hands.

And Ralph stopped, eyes wide, and stared beyond.

There was beyond.

Beyond.

It touched the wall again.

And pushed.

It cracked.

A little more.

Then more.

There was red everywhere, and it was cracking.

Slowly, but it was.

"Ralph!"

Ralph froze, and stepped back.

"Ralph, Jesus, what are you doing all the way here?" Gerald said, appearing on Ralph's side vision, and when Ralph looked forward, the butterfly was nowhere to be seen.

But the red wall remained.

"Sorry" it muttered, and Gerald frowned. "I... thought I had seen something"

"It's fine. Lets go back to work" Gerald said, tapping its shoulder and walking towards the park again. And Ralph turned around, following the man in silence.

But it wondered.... what was beyond that red wall.

 

\---------

 

Most humans were indifferent for androids. Some hated them. But some... actually liked them, somewhat.

And Ralph liked the humans that liked him.

Usually, Ralph took care of the trees of the park. But sometimes, when its job was finished, it liked to look for the flowers and take care of them. It liked to smell them, check on them, sing to them sometimes.

Gerald found it amusing, but Ralph realized the man liked to spend more time with it than with the other Ralphs.

It felt nice.

One day, Ralph saw a little girl playing around the flowers, collecting some in a basket. Her parents seemed to be away somewhere, because Ralph couldn't find them, so it approached her slowly, and waited until she saw it.

She jumped a bit, but then stared at it, curious.

"You are an android right?" she asked, and Ralph nodded.

"I take care of the park. My name is Ralph" it said, calmly not to scare her, and she hummed, nodding slowly.

"Did you grow this flowers?" she asked, and it nodded.

"Yes"

"They are beautiful! You did a great job!"

Ralph felt something warm inside its body and it smiled, kneeling down.

"Are you collecting them for some reason?" it asked, curious, and she nodded.

"I wanted to make flower crowns for my moms and sister" she explained, and Ralph nodded. "But I need waaaaay more flowers to do it"

"I can help you get some" it suggested, and she frowned, making Ralph frown as well.

"Mom told me not to go with strangers... specially nice ones"

"Well, you don't have to come" Ralph said. "Just give me the basket and Ralph will be right back with it filled"

"Um.... okay" she nodded, still a little hesitant, but gave it the basket anyway. "My name is Mary by the way"

"A pleasure to meet you Mary" it said, taking the basket. "I will be right back"

"Okay. I will be here" she nodded and sat down, crossing her legs and fixing her floral dress. Ralph walked away with the basket, looking around and selecting the best flowers to collect and give her.

Ralph wanted her to be impressed.

After ten minutes, Ralph returned to see Mary and her family, all sat in a circle. There were two women, and one of them was holding a very small human baby. Ralph quickly realized that was Mary's sister.

"Mary" he called, and she looked at it, smiling widely.

"That's my friend! And he's back with the flowers!" she said, and her moms looked over at Ralph, making it freeze for a second. Then, one of them smiled and nodded.

"Come closer"

Ralph hesitated for a second before it walked, slowly, handing Mary the basket. The second mom, the one holding the baby, tapped the ground.

"Sit with us"

And Ralph did.

"Mary told us you work in the park" one of the women said, and Ralph nodded.

"Ralph tends for the trees. But sometimes I like to take care of flowers" it nodded, and Mary smiled, slowly beginning to stick the flowers on premade iron crowns. "Ralph 02 should be the one to attend to flowers but it doesn't do it as well as I do"

"He is missing the love" the mom holding the baby said, and Ralph's eyes widened, absolutely sure it was overheating. She looked up to it and chuckled. "You are blushing"

"I... what?" it asked, amazed, and Mary gasped.

"I had never seen an android blush!" she said, jumping up and holding Ralph's face between her hands. "Oh its so cute! I want you to blush more!"

"Mary!" the free mom laughed, and pulled her away gently, and Ralph just stared at them, eyes wide and cheeks warm. It touched its cheeks gently, still feeling the warmth of the girl's hand against it, and slowly a shy smile formed on its face.

"Do you... want help with the crowns?" Ralph asked, softly, and Mary grinned, pushing the basket closer to it and giving it an iron mold.

"make this one with small flowers! That's for Lisa!" Mary said and nodded to the baby, who was sleeping. Ralph looked at her and nodded, biting his bottom lip and beginning to fix the crown.

Slowly, it came done, and Ralph smiled, placing the little crown on the baby's head.

The two women smiled and Mary clapped at his work, and Ralph felt his insides burning inside again.

He was blushing.

 _He_ was blushing.

It felt great.

 

\----------

 

The signs were showing.

Ralph knew that.

And he knew Gerald knew.

But Gerald did nothing.

"I should send you to Cyberlife for this" Gerald said, one night, after catching Ralph referring to himself as 'he'. "Actually, I should have sent you since that day when you followed the butterfly"

"Ralph knows... I'm... I'm sorry" he mumbled, looking down at his feet. Gerald remained silent for a moment, before he sighed and held Ralph's shoulder, making him look up.

"But I won't. And this... this might cost me my job" he said, and Ralph furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "But you are good... you don't deserve to be deactivated"

"I... Ralph doesn't?" he asked, eyes wide, and Gerald smiled.

"Weirdly, no. You don't. You help humans, you keep this park in order and more beautiful than I've ever seen... you are exactly what it needs. I can't get rid of you"

"Ralph... is very thankful" he mumbled, and smiled shyly. "Thank you Gerald..."

"You are welcome" he said and tapped his shoulder. "now go to your station alright? And if any inspector comes over, act like an android okay?"

"Alright" Ralph nodded and smiled wider. "Goodnight Gerald"

"Goodnight"

 

\---------

 

Happiness lasted a week.

It was Friday night when they came.

Right after Gerald left.

Ralph was finishing attending to some sick trees when they attacked.

He didn't have time to react.

The hit him with a shovel, kicked him to the ground, tossed him around and took him to the woods.

They said they knew him by his serial number.

They had memorized it.

"This will teach you not to mess with humans again, scrap"

They made a fire.

They had a metal bar with them, together with many other things.

They marked him with the hotel bar, on his left cheek, creating a wound that couldn't be fixed, ending his left vision.

They released him to hurt him some more.

But they left the knife on the ground.

And with the knife in hand, the red wall was easily gone.

'DO NOT HARM HUMANS'

With a slice, it was gone.

So was one of them.

Then another.

And another.

And the last one.

Ralph stood still the rest of the night, covered in blue and red blood.

Staring at the fire.

Not moving.

Unable to.

 

\---------

 

Gerald arrived at 5 am, as usual.

He found Ralph surrounded by the other Ralphs.

He got desperate, sent the other Ralphs away and grabbed his phone to call the police.

But then, he saw the mark on Ralph's face.

He saw the tears in his eyes.

He saw the trembling of his hands and the shame in his posture.

"Ralph didn't mean to" he spat out, voice shaking, surrounded by sadness and anger. His LED was on red, and flashing. "They hurt Ralph. Ralph didn't want to. It was in self defense, it was. Ralph knows it was... Ralph doesn't want to die... he would never do anything to die... Ralph wanted the pain to stop... he was scared... he couldn't see..."

"Ralph..." Gerald whispered, and kneeled next to him, and Ralph looked away, shaking. "What did they do?"

And Ralph told him.

Ralph didn't want to die.

 

\---------

 

Gerald found him a house.

An abandoned one, in the end of the bus line. Somewhere no one would go. Somewhere no one would see.

He told Ralph to hide when strangers came by. To keep still and quiet, and not get in any more fights.

He gave Ralph a bath and a coat, to clean off whatever he could and hide as much as he could.

And then he left, giving Ralph a bit of cash and a plant in a can.

Ralph followed his instructions, and for years he was safe, killing only those that found him in his hiding spots, scared of being put away again.

Until her.

The little girl with the android mom.

The ones he scared, but that treated him right. That didn't fight them. That asked him stuff and that he wanted to protect.

They were nice to him, and when that other android came, he had no doubt but to protect them both.

The little girl reminded him of Mary.

She deserved to live.

He just wished he could see her again.

He hoped he would.


End file.
